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Informa investors balked at the price the company plans to pay for rival trade show organiser UBM amid skepticism over the cost savings and cross-selling benefits the long-rumoured merger will bring.

The terms of the proposed takeover, announced today, value UBM at £4.5bn including debt, a level criticised by City analysts as “very full”.

Informa chief executive Stephen Carter’s case was not helped by the company’s inability to present cost savings and revenue growth targets. The numbers had not yet been audited, he said, after news of merger talks leaked on Monday.

He was left claiming there would be “significant” synergies to justify the price. Investors were unconvinced and marked Informa...